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Mattiverse
The Mattiverse (also known as the Judgement Era) is an expanded universe project made by and for Matthias Karlsson (better known as Matt-256, MattNet or Matt) to compile his ideas to add to the Halo Universe, as well as to express his beliefs on what will and/or should happen to the universe after the Human-Covenant War. As such, it is an attempt by the author to create a reasonable expanded universe using material provided by the Halo Trilogy, the spin-off games (Halo Wars, Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach), the novels (Fall of Reach, The Flood, First Strike, Ghosts of Onyx, Contact Harvest, The Cole Protocol and Evolutions), the released comics (Uprising, Helljumper and Blood Line), the Graphic Novel (to some degree, minor liberties are taken), the Encyclopedia (same as with the graphic novel, some liberties are taken in interpretation), I Love Bees, as well as the author's own - and possibly other Halo Fanon contributors' - articles. Certain canon pieces are ignored, however, because the author either think they are utterly terrible, simply don't make sense, or haven't been released yet. These pieces of ignored canon includes; Halo Legends, the Forerunner Trilogy (might be incorporated later depending on whether it does good or fails), and the Believe Campaign (simply because it is just a marketing campaign). While this wasn't made/conceived to be a community project like the Necros War, contributions and/or additions to this universe is certainly welcome should any user be willing to do so. Do note, however, before you add something to the universe, that you make sure to leave a message on the user's talkpage so that he can take a look at whatever you want to add to determine whether it gets in or not, just to make sure that nothing that contradicts the previously established "canon" of the expanded universe gets entered. Status Quo After the Human-Covenant War, the Covenant has collapsed; rival factions tear each other apart in fierce civil war to control the remaining territories of the once great empire. Humanity and the Sangheili have agreed to a truce between each other, though relations are still sour; bad blood is not easily forgotten. Regardless, the two races remain on peaceful terms and can each safely focus on their respective futures thanks to the apparent sacrifice of John-117 and his AI helper Cortana. The last remaining San 'Shyuum, or Prophets, have left the sight of the galaxy in an attempt to rebuild. Now, the once mighty race is the quarry of hunters from most races; the various Jiralhanae tribes and the Sangheili strive to obtain the knowledge to produce ships and weapons, something the Prophets made sure during the Covenant's formation to keep to themselves; the humans want the same, and more - the secrets behind all Covenant technology, to ensure the human race's continued survival. But in the midst of reconstruction efforts, search for future goals, civil wars and Prophet-hunting, there are those who realize that the galaxy is still not safe; for the Halos - while no longer in standby mode after the destruction of the Ark - are still out there, and potentially still a threat to all sentient life. And the Halo Installations are not the only deadly and powerful artifacts left by the Forerunners; the mysterious disappearence of the fragments of an ancient time/space-bending crystal of unknown potential and the awakening of trillions of deadly Forerunner constructs may very well be the sparks that will ignite the fire of full-scale war once more. Once more, the galaxy may have to face its judgement. And this time, humanity does not have their great hero by their side... Species Humans After the end of the Human-Covenant War and the truce with the Sangheili, humanity has reestablished contact with the few remaining hidden colonies, solidifying the UNSC's command for the duration of the upcoming reconstruction period. Fleet Admiral Lord Hood has, for all intents and purposes become humanity's strong leader, maintaining strict but just control of the few remaining humans, and has built up a reputation as a compassionate, merciful and popular leader; all in all, a popular dictator. Through reestablished trade routes between the colonies, and the introduction of reduced trade with the Sangheili, the human economy is slowly building itself up. However, the UNSC Defense Force finds itself strained almost to the limit, with most of their fleets destroyed during the Battle of Earth. Obviously, humanity considers itself incredibly lucky that the former Covenant is busy destroying each other instead. While a great deal of humanity's efforts are spent solely on rebuilding their numbers and colonies, a considerable amount is also dedicated on achieving technological advancements. This includes studies of Covenant technology, the Portal artifact on Earth, structures on Reach, Tantalus and Ariel and long-range scans on the Onyx Shield World - though there have so far been no way to bypass the trillions of sentinels that guard the structure, thus leaving the fate of all UNSC personnel on Onyx ambiguous (though most estimates say that all of them are dead). In addition, information gathered by the crew of the recently rediscovered Spirit of Fire have brought some interesting data for humanity's scientists to work through, most notably the information on the Relic on Harvest and the destroyed Shield World. Sangheili Jiralhanae San 'Shyuum Unggoy Huragok Yanme'e Kig-Yar Lekgolo For a race of wormlike organisms capable of reading each others' minds while in close enough proximity to one another - thus allowing for perfect understanding and unity within the race - the absorption into the Covenant was an extremely radical change for the Lekgolo. After they were conscripted into the Covenant military, the various Lekgolo hives (Mgalekgolo, for instance) were spread far and wide - consequently isolating them from the rest of the "telepathic joined mind" the Lekgolo had had for centuries, and possibly millenia, turning them into seperately evolved "individuals". The Great Schism served as another change for the race, as for the first time Lekgolo were pitted against each other; those who served under Jiralhanae commanders had developed a concensus different from the one formed by those under Sangheili command. After the schism, the majority of both groups decided to return to Te to determine the future of their race, while a few opted to remain with their respective Jiralhanae and Sangheili leaders. However, the two different groups, as well as a third one constisting of the Lekgolo who had remained on Te, had been separated from each other long enough to each develop different ideas on how to handle the race's future. For possibly the first time in history, the Lekgolo race itself was in a state of three-way civil war. To the other races' best knowledge, the civil war is still ongoing on Te, though there have been theories made by scientific experts on the Lekgolo that the violence will soon end; now that the majority of the race is back in one place, these theories claim that the Lekgolo will feel each others' pain, despair and other negative emotions created by the conflict, and band together once more under one banner. Regardless if this is true or not, the other races have their hands full and can't be bothered with checking the situation to be certain. Organizations/Factions United Nations Space Command Though suffering staggering casualties during the Battles of Reach and Earth, the UNSC lives on, for all intents and purposes removing the Unified Earth Government and Colonial Administration Authority from power and taking on their responsibilities personally, which allows Lord Hood to remain in power of humanity for as long as is deemed necessary. As of now, most of the UNSC's main goal is to help humanity replenish its numbers (attempts to do this includes encouraging couples to have as many children as possible) and rebuild its infrastructure and colonies. However, the Defense Force has a quite different objective in mind; protecting the colonies by ensuring humanity's eventual ascension by improving all technology. To do this, the Office of Naval Intelligence has mass-recruited scientists to study all known data and artifacts of the Forerunners, as well as new pieces of Covenant technology made available by the new trade with the Sangheili. To speed up this process, the Defense Force's Special Warfare units have been tasked with tracking down and capturing any surviving Prophets, knowing that they hold key knowledge about both Forerunner and Covenant technology. 7th Special Forces Operational Detachment Union of Sanghelios The Oracle Seekers Following the dissolution of the Covenant in the Great Schism, the Sangheili - under their new leader, The Arbiter Thel 'Vadam - were enlightened about the true purpose and function of the Halo Installataions (or "the Sacred Rings", as they were known by the Covenant); that they were, in fact, devastating Forerunner superweapons capable of exterminating all sentient life within the Milky Way Galaxy. Initially, channeling their anger over the Prophets' and Jiralhanae's betrayal and fighting to stop their former fellow member species of the Covenant was enough to keep the Sangheili occupied. Likewise, the creation of the Union of Sanghelios by Thel 'Vadam and Rtas 'Vadum served to keep the populations occupied for some time. But eventually, the Sangheili found themselves suffering a spiritual crisis; they were empty, with the only religion they remembered now declared false. Though they still believed in their gods - as they had done so even before encountering the San 'Shyuum - the ages of time with the Prophets as their spiritual leaders had rendered their previous beliefs obsolete and loyalty to The Great Journey almost unanimous. The Prophets' deceit thus left the Sangheili with no way and no knowledge on how to properly venerate their gods. As time passed, various splinter religions popped up and found themselves with conflicting with others on which would be correct. Eventually, this would undoubtedly had led to another civil war, this time within the Sangheili's own numbers. However, this didn't occur, due to the sudden rise of a Sangheili Shipmaster who, in his own bid to solve his inner spiritual crisis, had discovered a new path for the Sangheili to follow. He preached to his fellow Sangheili that, if they ever hoped to find true and honest answers to all their questions and thus find inner peace, they would have to seek the only entities that would without a doubt speak the words of the gods themselves and only those words; The Oracles (IE, the advanced Forerunner AI Constructs, notably the Monitors). The Shipmaster's preachings and beliefs attracted thousands of Sangheili within days. By the end of the year, a vast majority of the Sangheili population backed the new beliefs, calling themselves the Seekers of the Holy Oracles, or more simply The Oracle Seekers. Ever since, the teachings of the Seekers have become central in Sangheili society, filling the void left by the false Great Journey. However, unlike the Prophets with the Great Journey, the Seekers are careful to make sure that they stay out of political and military matters, as the Sangheili race is determined to not let their beliefs be infected by corruption that may come alongside political and military power; it has been clarified that the beliefs are there to guide, never rule. Covenant Splinter Factions Alpha Tribes Empire of Cerbus Covenant Believers Forerunner Constructs Items Forerunner Crystal An artifact of incredible power, the Forerunner Crystal (also known as the Fragment of Divinity by the Covenant) was found in the underground Menachite Forerunner Complex by Doctor Catherine Halsey and several SPARTAN-IIs. During the events that followed up until Operation: FIRST STRIKE, the crystal was destroyed in the hopes of preventing it from falling into Covenant hands. However, several fragments of the crystal remains; a few pieces are in UNSC possession - kept under heavy lock and under intense studies by ONI experts. Meanwhile, three shards were recovered by the Covenant - of which one of these somehow fell into the hands of the Prophet of Patience, and another resurfaced together with a cabal of surviving Prophets on Allure, while the fate of the third remains ambiguous (though it's likely it was used by the Gravemind to propel High Charity to the Ark without the Portal on Earth, and thus was destroyed along with the flood, the Ark and the second Alpha Halo). The Prophets on Allure had been secretly trying to study the artifact on behalf of the Empire of Cerbus, whose forces had captured them sometime prior. From the shadows in which he manipulated the Covenant Believers' actions, the Prophet of Patience leaked information of the enclave to the UNSC with the intent of stripping the Empire of a valuable resource - and also hoping to recover the shard they possessed, which he believed would make his own reasearch into the piece he held easier. Things on Allure took an interesting turn, however, when the chaos caused by the arrival of several UNSC Spartan teams caused the crystal shard to be damaged, creating a massive rift in slipspace which ended up tearing off a third of the planet and sending it plummeting into an unknown dimension of slipspace, along with it a full team of Spartans and the shard itself - all of which ended up colliding with an uninhabited colony over 50 lightyears away little more than a day afterwards. Though Patience's plan didn't work fully the way he hoped, as the shard was never found again, the incident still stripped the Cerbus Empire of a potentially dangerous resource, and a team of "Demons" were lost in the process, both of which could have prevented his planned resurrection of the Covenant. In addition, the incident convinced him to abandon his attempts to merely recreate its slipspace properties for construction of more effective FTL drives, and instead attempt to focus the crystal shards' power as a weapon. Whether the crystal is unique - or if there is, in fact, more of them - is uncertain. It's also unknown exactly how the crystal works - indeed, the complexity has caused more than one scientist to wonder whether even the Forerunners themselves knew all the specifics behind it, or if it even was their creation to begin with. Locations Onyx Shield World Halo Installations Harvest Relic Tantalus Facility Events Skirmish over Harvest Izanagi Incident Raid on Allure ??? People Preston Cole Veronica Buck (née Dare) High Prophet of Patience Previously a member of the Covenant Military Intelligence Unit, the Prophet of Patience managed to escape both High Charity's infestation and the Sangheili's persecutions and evade notice for many years. At an unknown point of time, he used Forerunner artifacts to create a faux "Oracle", which he then used as an argument for convincing the Covenant Believer leadership to step aside and let him take over. Initially, he didn't unveil himself to anyone else, operating from the shadows and commanding the Believers in secret, managing to keep both his existance and the existance of once more fully active shipyards (something that had been impossible for the Believers before, as they lacked the Prophets' knowledge to produce ships) churning out hundreds of new vessels. Unlike the Prophet of Truth, Patience was a military genius and an intelligence expert, traits he used to great effect. An example of this was when he covertly provided information regarding the existence of an enclave of surviving prophets on Allure as a rumor on human colonies (which was then picked up and pursued by ONI), thus unintentionally orchestrating the catastrophic slipspace disaster which ended up sending a third of the planet, a shard of the Forerunner Slipspace Crystal and a team of Spartans into a largely unknown layer of slipspace, only for all objects to then reenter normal space and impact with an uninhabited world 50 lightyears away. Later, he also managed to leak critical pieces of misinformation to the UNSC's Office of Naval Intelligence that suggested the Empire of Cerbus was about to win the war against the Believers, and that the Invasion of Shade's Retribution was the first step to a development that would lead to the collapse of the Believers and the Alpha Tribes, which would then leave the Empire of Cerbus the sole, powerful victor. This convinced ONI to deploy several teams of Spartans to Shade's Retribution to ensure the Empire of Cerbus' invasion failed. The Spartans succeeded in their mission, and the invasion turned into a disaster for the Jiralhanae empire. However, rather than put down a growing threat, the action led to the resurrection of the Covenant. After the invasion, Patience announced his presence publically to the Believers and unveiled his new armada, with which he launched a full-scale invasion of the Cerbus Empire's core worlds, crushing the empire in less than a month. The remains of the empire were then swiftly incorporated into the Believers', giving the boost needed to defeat the Alpha Tribes after a short and swift campaign. After the defeat of the Alpha Tribes, Patience was then officially declared High Prophet and Hierarch, leader of the restored Covenant Empire. During his coronation, he also proceeded to declare war on the Sangheili and the Humans, beggining the Second Covenant War. Misc Halo: Liberation Halo: Judgement